After getting all our FaceTime in to loved ones back home it was too late to head out to a park today. The boys told me they wanted to go shopping! It was more about staying out of the sun. We would start at Silk Street Market at Yongali subway station(and that’s as far as we got!). We took the subway there and I was expecting the same awe inspiring site the vendors pouring out of the Market down the halls into the entryway of the subway.
Gone, no more are you colorfully treated with shopping treasurers before you reach the market. Instead you see a revolving door as an entrance to an empty hallway where they stuck a massage chair and fresh squeeze orange juice machine. Up the empty stairs where I had last bought DVDs and CDs.
Through the door into the Silk Market, the first floor filled with their bread and butter my most hated floor, silks and scarves and purses. “Hey Lady”, come look.....All trying to get your attention. I see a few scarves I would love to buy, but I hope I will find elsewhere or at least figure out a good price before I try to haggle with them. We quickly walk around this floor so the boys can hear this experience of being called to their wares.
Then head upstairs, the stairs inside the Silk Street Market are filled with vendors and I quickly see a vendor I can’t wait to buy from. Someone who paints inside of glass beads and glass bottles. I buy some beads not as cheap as what I got last time but I got him down cheaper than when I saw them at the Forbidden City this time. So I was happy. The boys each got one and he painted their Chinese name inside of the bead while we waited. They choose a panda bead, dragon bead and Great Wall bead. The guy had not seen Aidan’s “dan” spelling before, so he looked it up thinking these foreigners are wrong. He was surprised, saying the first time he had used it.
The next floor the boys read “toys” on the sign and were extremely excited. They thought it was so cool, but really it wasn’t a whole floor dedicated to toys like I’ve seen at other places. It was only 6 or 7 stores in part of an aisle. However we spent a lot of time in that part of the store. There were no repeat stores selling the same items here to try and get the better price. It all came down to good old fashioned haggling.
I need to stick to my guns better so I get the better price, but I did really well. My boys would easily have caved in overpaying. Online it says to start bargaining under half the price they tell you. No way too much money, they jack the prices up here way more than you’d find elsewhere. Indifference helps when you really don’t care if you have the thing or not, you stick to your guns because you really don’t want it and you do the walk away and be called back dance. They say you aren’t serious, they can’t do it for that price, a little more, we are talking don’t walk away, I want to sell to you. Fine they will sell to you at your price, they look mad. The greatest actors ever. Just smile and don’t take it personally. If they really don’t want to do business with you they will turn around and talk to someone else.
One store had Chinese legos with titles called Space Wars(Star Wars), Fast(Speed), My World(Mine Craft). I did get a big Tiantan(Temple of Heaven) lego set for the boys. Before Tao left he looked it up and I knew the price I could get online so I did stick to my guns and not get it for more. I also found a few more vendors of glass bottles with painted scenes in them but no beads. Original price 800 yuan. I choose two. If my memory recalls correctly I got my one last time for 120 yuan. So I bargained for 2 for 230 yuan! The boys were impressed.
Sometimes you just have to know what you’d be able to buy it for at home and get it less than that. The deals aren’t as good anymore as they once were. You just need to know where to look, and that takes a lot of effort of window shopping!
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